Royalty and licensing income (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended
Oct. 31, 2015	Oct. 31, 2014
Royalty and licensing income (Details) [Line Items]
Patent Expiration Date	Apr. 24, 2018
Life Sciences [Member]
Royalty and licensing income (Details) [Line Items]
Royalty Revenue	$ 0.4	$ 1.0

Revenue earned during the period from the leasing or otherwise lending to a third party the entity's rights or title to certain property. Royalty revenue is derived from a percentage or stated amount of sales proceeds or revenue generated by the third party using the entity's property. Examples of property from which royalties may be derived include patents and oil and mineral rights.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 225

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.1(e))

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26872669&loc=d3e20235-122688

Name:	us-gaap_RoyaltyRevenue
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration